Chasing life, one day at a time

Books I’ve Read in 2018

Today is the last day of 2018. I thought of writing a retrospect blog post, but I’m too lazy to do that…for now. Instead, I’m going to share with you all the books I’ve read this year.

2018 was a busy year for me. Too much was going on – in my career, personal, and blogging life. I was juggling so many things that it became difficult for me to keep up with my mountain of TBR pile.

And to make things worse, I suffered a terrible reading slump for most part of the year. It wasn’t until September that I managed to finally pick up a book, and from then on I just fired up and kept reading. Surprisingly, I successfully surpassed my 2018 reading challenge by the end of December, in less than four months, at that.

I managed to read 17 books this year, although admittedly, most of the books I picked up were re-reads. I’ll explain more about that later.

Here’s a little summary of all the books I’ve read in 2018:

1. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan – It took me a while to finish this because again, I was fighting a terrible reading slump. Thankfully, I powered through because this was such a beautiful ending to the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy – lavish, rich, complicated, yet hilarious at the same time.

2. As Old As Time by Liz Braswell – This is a twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I feel so bad for saying this, but this book has got to be my least favorite read of 2018. The story line was a little bit confusing because it goes back and forth to two different timelines. It also didn’t help that the writing was lackluster. I’m sorry, Disney.

3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Childrenby Ransom Riggs, and

4. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs– Both of these are re-reads. When I found out that the fourth book in the series was coming out, I just knew I had to read from the beginning. I’m glad I did because this series is truly amazing and I enjoyed reading the books like it was my first time.

5. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs – Like the first two books, this did not disappoint. This was a satisfying conclusion to the first three books in the series. I said “conclusion” because the fourth book (and the succeeding books to come out in the future) follows a brand new timeline, where the peculiar children explore the modern day and discover the world of American peculiardom.

6. A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs – As soon as the book was released, I immediately went to my local bookstore and grabbed a copy. It’s a lot more expensive than the other three books, but I still bought it anyway because that’s how much I love the entire series. To say the least, this is hands down my favorite read for 2018. I can’t wait for the next book! Also Ransom Riggs, my new author crush! ❤

7. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – I’ve been reading this book every year since 2011. It’s a short yet deeply moving story that always reminds me to see the beauty in everything and to always view the world with an eyes of a child. Definitely something you should read at least once (or more) in your lifetime.

8. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green – It’s no secret that John Green is one of my favorite YA Contemporary authors. I have all of his standalone books. I did enjoy reading this book, but I have to say, it’s not my favorite. The Fault in Our Stars remains to be my number one.

9. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – Again, another re-read because the sequel (The Next Person You Meet in Heaven) just came out this year. I have yet to get a copy of that.

10. Brida by Paulo Coelho – Another re-read. I just randomly picked up this book that one time I was bored. LOL!

11. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz – This is my first LGBT book and I liked it. It’s poignant, lyrical, and heartwarming. It was also an easy read as I managed to finish the book in 5 hours.

12. I see London, I see France by Sarah Mlynowski – I got this during the NBS Book Binge Bazaar. A classic chick-lit that reminds me so much of Sophie Kinsella’s books. I breezed through this book in a little over 5 hours.

13. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – This is probably one of the most talked about books in 2018 and for good reason. This is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and I super loved it. It’s my favorite YA contemporary read for 2018. I haven’t watched the movie adaptation yet, but I’ll get to it this year.

14. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak – I told you I have so many re-reads this year and this is one of them. I first read the book four years ago, but I DNF (did-not-finish), because only god knows why. Anyway, I decided start over and finish reading it. What a beautiful, beautiful book! It’s a sad and haunting story that I will for sure think about for years and years.

15. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab – This is an unpopular bookish opinion, but I was super disappointed with this one that I decided not to read the sequel. A lot of people seem to like it, but it just didn’t click for me. I didn’t like the two main characters because I feel like they lack substance, especially the male protagonist, which could very well be the male counterpart of Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga. The story was okay, but I have to say, there are better dark fantasy books out there. I don’t hate it, I just think it’s overhyped. But that’s just me.

16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, and

17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Surprise, surprise! Another re-read. I first read the entire HP series around 10 years ago and at that time, I was either just borrowing books from friends or reading e-books. When my husband asked me what gift I wanted for Christmas, I immediately said I wanted a Harry Potter boxed set. I know, it took me years to finally decide to have my own set, but I’m happy that I finally have one.

I’m pretty satisfied with the number of books I’ve read this year, considering that I’ve only technically started reading during the second half of the year. My initial goal was to read 15 books and I’m happy that I managed to exceed it by reading two more books before the year ends.

2019 Reading Challenge

For 2019, my goal is to read 20 books and I’m hoping to read more genre that are out of my comfort zone. I’ve set up my 2019 reading challenge on Goodreads and I’ve already started on my first book. Add me up to see what I’m currently reading.

P.S: If you’re also doing the 2019 reading challenge, well, here’s to us and the worlds we have yet to discover! ❤